Ship&#39;s boat or the like.



Patented Jul 3, 1917.

i th H I I -JJU A. H. T. WOODS.

SHIPS BOAT OR THE LIKE.

APPLICATION men AUG-29, 1913.

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SHIPS BOAT OR THE LIKE.

Specification 'of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, l9ll'7.

Application med August 29, 1913. Serial no. 787,337.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR BoBERT THOMAS Woons, a subject of the King ofGreat Britain, and residing in Harrow, near London, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to ShipsBoats or the like, of which the follow ing is a specification.

This invention has reference to ships boats or the like and relates moreparticularly to the arrangement of'the water-tight buoyancy chambers ortanks with which such boats are generally fitted, and to bulkheadsarranged in the boat in conjunction with the buoyancy tanks.

According to the ordinary construction, the buoyancy tanks, which arewater-tight and intended to insure buoyancy even if the boat be filledwith water, are located along each side of the boat. In this positionthey are very much exposed to risk of being damaged by impact of theboat against the ships side while being launched, or by collision whenafloat, or even by being struck by a heavy sea; such damage wouldgenerally destroy the water-tightness and buoyancy of the tank, and notonly render it useless for the purpose intended, but would make it apositive source of danger by loadingthe boat on one side and soendangerlng its stability.

According to my invention, instead of loeating the buoyancy tanks in theusual way along the sides of the boat, I locate them along the centerline thereof where they are in the position best shielded from the risksmentioned.

In the case of a; boat with a steel shell, I preferably make the tanksintegral with the boat, in the form of an inverted U trough with itslower edges flanged outwardly and riveted to the bottom of theboat'she'll on I each side of the center line, and I find it advisableto fit an independent water tight bottom to the tank a little abovethebottom of the boat.

The tank is thus made double-bottomed and the risk of its being piercedby impact of'the bottom of the boat against a rock or submerged wreckageis minimized.

The space inclosed as described is divided water-tightly by transverseplates so as to form a number of independent compartments or buoyancytanks. The tank is pref erably ca'rriedashigh as thethwarts will permit,or in some cases even higher, and

each compartment is provided with a manhole with a lid adapted to bejointed watertightly and giving access for cleaning, paintmg, or repair.

The tanks preferably stop off short ofeach end of the boat and shouldhave suflicient buoyancy to keep the boat afloat when fully loadedalthoughfilled with water.

As an additional safeguard against the destruction of the boats buoyancyby collisionor other accidents, I prefer to fit a number of water-tightpartitions or bulkheads extending from the central buoyancy tank to theshell of the boat and carried as high as practicable, so as to subdividethe boat into a number of compartments, and I specially arrange thesebulkheads as hereinafter described, so as to minimize risk of injury tothe buoyancy tanks by thrust conveyed through thebulkheads resultingfrom collision or other accidents.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a seamless steel life boatin the accompanying drawings, in which Figurel is a plan, the lower halfbeing in section on the line A, A, of Fig. 3, and Fig. 2 is an elevationins'ection on the line B. B. of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionon the line C. G. of Fig. 1.

1 is the shell of the boat and 2 are seats forming a partial deckcarried onbrackets 3 arranged around the gunwale, and extended at 2 soas to deck in the ends of the boat;

4 are the usual thwarts which are fixed across the boat to the seat ordeck 2.

5 is the buoyancy tank, extending symmetrically along the center line ofthe boat for the greater part of the length thereof. It is of inverted Uform, closed at the ends by the end plates 5 and closed at the bot tomby the bottom plate 5 all riveted water-tightly together. The sides andthe end plates 5 are carried down to the bottom of the boat where theyare flanged outwardly and riveted water-tightly to the boat shell, thusmaking the tank double-b0ttomed as already described.

The tank is stiffened by gusset plates 6 and is divided by thetransverse water-tight division plates 7so as to form a number ofindependent water-tight compartments or buoyancy tanks. The variouscompartments are provided with manholes and lids 8 adapted to be jointedwater-tightly in any of the well known ways.

9 are the water-tight partitions or bulkheads, previously referred to,extending from the buoyancy tanks to the shell of the boat, to both ofwhich they are riveted, and carried as high as practicable so as todivide the boat into a number-of compartments.

Two of these bulkheads extend along the center line from the ends of thebuoyancy tank to the bow and stern respectively, so as to divide theboat into two compartments longitudinally. Another pair extendtransversely about amid-ships from the buoyancy tank to the shell of theboat, thus dividing it into four compartments, any one of which mightbecome water-logged without impairing the buoyancy of the others.

It will be understood that the buoyancy of the central tank should bepreserved at all costs, as this buoyancy is ultimately relied upon tokeep the boat from foundering. Hence the buoyancy tank is locatedcentrally and stops off at some distance short of the ends of the boat,so that if the main structureof the boat should be staved in orotherwise damaged, the tank would remain unimpaired.

As the connection of the central tank to the ends and sides of the boatmight render the tank liable to injury by thrust conveyed through thebulkheads, I specially arrange the latter so as to avoid this danger. Iaccordingly make them of a ductile material, as thin as their purposeswill permit, and

' preferably curve or corrugate them and arrange them obliquely to thetank, with easy bends at their ends, as shown in the case of thetransverse bulkheads in Fig. 1. S0 arranged, the bulkheads will bend orbuckle or crumple under thrust without injuring the tank.

Four bulkheads are shown in the drawings, which are usually'sufiicientfor a boat of moderate size, but of. course the number may be increasedor diminished to suit circumstances.

The top edges of the bulkheads are preferably rounded over after themanner shown in the-case of the gunwale plate 10 in Fig. 3.

11 is a step for the mast, riveted to the top of the buoyancy tank, and12 are cleats for foot rest bars. 1 p

The central buoyancy tank, being in the form of a deep continuous boXgirder with its sides well braced together, is very strong to resistbending stress, especially in the vertical direction, and as it iseffectually secured all along to the boat, it adds very materially tothe strength thereof.

I accordingly make use of this girder to sling the boat from the davits,the ordinary slinging tackle being attached to the hooks 13 secured tothe tank at its ends where it is further strengthened by the gussets 6and j the central bulkheads 9.

in the case of a wooden boat, it is securely bolted, strapped, cleatedor otherwise fasten-ed at frequent intervals to the frames of the boatso as to distribute the lifting stress throughout the structure. Theadditional strength thus aflorded, renders it safe to fully load theboat while still slung in the davits,.which might be dangerous, and insome cases impracticable, in the case of a fully loaded boat of theordinary kind slung in the ordinary way.

The tank 5 might extend the Whole length of the boat, or the spacesbetween the ends ofthe tank and the ends of the boat might be bulkheadedoff and closed with a Watertight deck so as to form end buoyancycompreferable, as it is safer and there is no difli-' culty in providingthe required buoyancy with the tank considerably shorter than the boat.1 I

The tank 5 is not necessarily made integral with the boat as shown inthe drawings; in the case of a wooden boat or where the integralformation is otherwise unsuitable or undesirable, the tanks which arethen self-contained may be secured in any congenient manner along thecenter line of the oat.

The buoyancy tanks and the bulkheads are shown as high as the thwartswill permit, as any greater. height would cause some inconvenience, butthey might obviously be carried higher if thought desirable.

The tanks are preferably galvanized all over, which not only protectsthem from corrosion, but improves their staunchness.

The invention is specially applicable to boats of the semi-collapsibletype. Such boats must of necessity be fitted with buoyancy tanks, andfrom their structure, their buoyancy tanks as usually arranged, arespecially exposed to risk.

Boats constructed with buoyancy tanks and bulkheads as described are notonly materially strengthened by the girder-like formation of the tank,which is preferably incorporated with the boat, but the risk offoundering is materially reduced, as the tanks are not likely tobedamaged by a collision or blow unless the boat as a whole is destroyed,and if any of the individual tanks should become damaged and flooded,the boat will not be so loaded as to affect its lateral stability. I

Having now fully described my invention, I declare that what I claim,and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In a'ships boat, incombination with a central longitudinal buoyancy chamber, a series ofbulkheads extending from the ends and sides of the chamber to the shellof the boat, substantially as described.

. 2. Ina ships boat, in combination with a central longitudinal buoyancychamber, a series of longitudinally yielding bulk-heads extending fromthe ends and sides of the chamber to the shell of the boat,substantially as described.

3. In a ships boat, in combination, a Water-tight buoyancy chamber ofdeep rectangular cross-section, extending longitudinally Within the boatWith its center line coincident with that of the boat, the sides of thechamber being flanged outwardly beloW and riveted along the bottom ofthe boat so as to be incorporated With the structure thereof, and a pairof hooks, fixed one at each end of the said buoyancy chamber, for 1slinging the boat, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of tWo Witnesses.

ARTHUR ROBERT THOMAS WOODS- WVitnesses:

JOHN I. J oHNsToN, WVILLIAM GEO. PETHERAN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

